Novak Djokovic's Australian Open Preparations Take Hit With Loss To Reilly Opelka

Former world number one Novak Djokovic's Australian Open preparations suffered a blow Friday as he was bundled out of the Brisbane International by towering American Reilly Opelka.

Former world number one Novak Djokovic's Australian Open preparations suffered a blow Friday as he was bundled out of the Brisbane International by towering American Reilly Opelka. The 2.11 metre (six feet 11 inches) Opelka served magnificently and returned just as well to stun the 24-time Grand Slam winner 7-6 (8/6), 6-3. Djokovic had gone into the tournament insisting that at 37 he still had the game to trouble the younger players. But Opelka, 27, a former world number 17 who was out of the game for almost two years from 2022-24 following hip and wrist surgeries, dominated the Serb and wrapped up a comfortable win in an hour and 40 minutes.

Opelka came back to the sport in July last year but showed his serve has lost none of its potency in his time away.

He served 16 aces and only faced one break point throughout the match.

"He's the greatest player ever," Opelka said of Djokovic.

"The reality is we have nothing to lose coming in against him. You end up playing more freely and you take a lot more risks because it's your only chance of beating him.